Wyoming Wind Power On Massive Scale Inches Forward

The Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Farm project proposed by Power Co. of Wyoming has received environmental reviews from the federal government.

The 3,000 megawatt project would contain as many as 1,000 turbines on public and private land in Carbon County, and generate enough power for one million homes, according to a statement.

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Interior Secretary Ken Salazarsaid yesterday on a conference call with reporters that his department is promoting wider use of renewable energy on public land to reduce consumption of foreign oil and create clean energy jobs. The agency has approved 31 utility-scale wind, solar and geothermal projects since 2009 with more than 7,200 megawatts of capacity.

“Renewable energy is very much a part of our energy future,” Salazar said. “Our expectation is that we’ll have accomplished placing roots down in the energy portfolio of America.”

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management completed its final environmental impact statement, which will now be available for public comment. Power Co. of Wyoming, a unit of Anschutz Corp., first submitted an application to BLM for the wind farm in 2008.

Salazar did not address the issue of opening up more public land for oil and gas drilling which industry has been calling for during recent months. That would also reduce our consumption of foreign oil.

Power Company of Wyoming has yet to select a turbine supplier and is seeking a utility to buy the electricity, Kara Choquette, a spokeswoman, said in an email to Blooomberg.